1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to solar tracking devices that are used to collect energy from the sun and to transform and transmit that energy for use elsewhere. This invention also relates to automatic control of such solar tracking devices which can be adjusted to capture the maximum sunlight and to ensure that damage does not happen when storms arise. More specifically, this invention relates to a unique system of providing power to operate such solar tracking devices with a plurality of power resources available and, predominantly, without taking away power from the system that is providing power transmission elsewhere. Even more specifically, this invention relates to a system that can produce more power from solar tracking devices than prior art elements.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Solar tracking devices are known and are now beginning to be widely used since there is a pressing need to find alternative energy sources, alternative to fossil fuels, for example. Currently there is a push to install solar energy capturing some to generate power for individual homes and some to gather power for transmission outside. Those that are gathered together are generally in so-called solar farms, and they may include a plethora of devices joined together to produce a larger quantity of energy such as electricity and then feed this energy into the normal grid to augment conventional electrical power generators, such as coal, oil and gas fired plants, nuclear and water power devices such as those associated with dams and the like. Conventionally, these solar farms are placed in areas where there are large, open spaces and where there are abundant periods of sunshine. Lately, pressure has been applied to use areas that were once large dumps or so-called brownfields or sites that have been closed due to high levels of pollution. These areas are usually re-covered by large amounts of soil and can even have substrates of film such as polyethylene and the like. These sites are unstable and not well-suited for the placement of large, heavy objects such as solar tracking devices and the like. In a previously filed application Ser. No. 12/590,749, entitled “Segmented Ballast Base Support System for Solar or Wind Generating Devices in Unstable Grounds Installation”, we describe how this problem is solved by the use of a special ballast base support system that is segmented and large enough to spread the weight over unsteady grounds.
Prior art solar tracking devices can be fixed in place or they can be provided with elements that will track the sun's path and thus provide more energy capture. These are the so-called single axis tracking devices. Others include the means to move the solar tracking element itself out of harm's way in the case of high winds or storms. These are called dual axis tracking devices. These devices are provided with a computerized system that can be set to inform the solar tracking device of when movement is required. The prior art dual tracking devices are deficient in that they cannot fully rotate 360° or tilt the solar capturing device itself more than 80°. In our previously filed application Ser. No. 12/653,163 entitled “Improved Solar Tracking Device”, we describe a system that overcomes the deficiencies of the prior art in that this device can easily rotate 360° and can tilt to about 10° vertically.
All of the prior art devices described suffer from a lack of total control in that the system is dependent on the presence of a power supply. Most of these prior art dual axis tracking devices take power directly from the grid or from the tracking element itself and some also provide simple lead acid battery back-up systems. It is thus an object of this invention to provide a solar tracking device with a unique system that employs control elements that can be powered with a variety of power supplies and thus be functional over any period of time and in times when storms and the like require the device to shut down to avoid damage.